The verdict is in.
Quebec man Joel Ifergan’s hopes to take home a $27 million dollar jackpot have come crashing down as the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal to claim the amount.
All eyes were on the Supreme Court of Canada Jan. 29 for a decision on whether Ifergan would be allowed to redeem a $27-million lottery ticket he received seven seconds after the draw’s deadline.
Ifergan bought the winning ticket in 2008 for the Super 7 draw at 8:59 p.m., about one minute before the 9 p.m. cut-off time.
However, the ticket came out seven seconds after the draw closed, and was dated for a week later. The ticket had the winning numbers for the $27-million jackpot draw.
$100,000 in legal fees
Loto Quebec refused to give him the amount, saying the ticket had not met the 9 p.m. deadline.
Following its usual practice, the Supreme Court did not give reasons for dismissing the appeal. The Quebec Superior Court and the Quebec Court of Appeal had previously ruled against Ifergan.
From one court to the next over seven years and spending $100,000 in lawyer fees, Ifergan exhausted his last legal avenue Jan. 29.
OLG agrees
Don Pister, a spokesperson for Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, takes into account only what is factual and dismisses speculation.
“There are two draw breaks: one at 2 p.m and one at 9 p.m. For both the draws, the central terminal system shuts down at 3pm and at 9pm respectively,” adding that OLG’s decision would have been no different had the same thing happened here in Ontario.
Here is a link to the full story on what other news agencies are reporting: https://storify.com/taniachy/almost-millionaire-man-s-hopes-dashed
Ifergan told CTV that he is really disappointed with the court’s decision, blaming it all on Loto-Quebec’s slow processing system that cost him time, effort and money.
